Posts tagged Richard Goldman
Numbers Show Upswing in Visitation to Florida’s Historic Coast
Oct 23rd
The latest tourism numbers show Florida’s Historic Coast has registered an impressive gain in visitors for both the month of September and for the just-ended fiscal year. In fact, visitation to the area was far ahead of the average for the State of Florida as a whole.
“The data confirm the success of the work we’ve done to insure the continued growth of tourism on Florida’s Historic Coast,” said Richard Goldman, executive director of the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and the Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau
. “Our marketing efforts over the past year, combined with great events, attractions and outstanding accommodations, have resulted in positive, measurable results – results we hope will continue into the future.”
Goldman said that for the fiscal year (October 1, 2011 – September 30, 2012), occupancy of Florida’s Historic Coast accommodations was up 4.2 percent over the previous year – significantly higher than the 3.3 per cent increase registered for the entire state during the same period. For September, occupancy here was up 6.7 percent over September 2011. The average daily rate for accommodations increased 4.6 percent for the year – just slightly ahead of the 4.3 percent increase recorded statewide. The increase in revenue per available room was particularly impressive – up 9 percent for the year, well ahead of the 7.7 percent increase registered for the Sunshine State. Especially encouraging was the 9.8 percent increase is room revenue for September and an overall 9 percent increase for the entire year.
The upcoming Nights of Lights, selected last year by National Geographic as one of the Top Ten holiday light displays in the world, should further stimulate visitation to the area. The Nights of Lights, combined with 500th Anniversary of Florida events, including an impressive Picasso exhibit opening in February in St. Augustine, will hopefully insure the tourism future of Florida’s Historic Coast will be as bright as the nearly three million lights that will twinkle in St. Augustine’s historic district from November 17 through January 31.
Located midway between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, Florida’s Historic Coast features historic St. Augustine, the outstanding golf and seaside elegance of Ponte Vedra, 42 miles of pristine Atlantic beaches – the same beaches that greeted Ponce de Leon on his historic 1513 discovery of the land he named La Florida.
For more information on events, activities, holiday getaways and vacation opportunities in St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches, go to the Visitors and Convention Bureau website at www.FloridasHistoricCoast.com.
Source: Visitors and Convention Bureau
Event Will Celebrate Tourism on Florida’s Historic Coast by St. Augustine Channel 1
May 20th
Tourism on Florida’s Historic Coast will be reviewed in grand style at the third annual State of the Tourism Industry event to be presented at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 24 at the Renaissance World Golf Village Resort. This special event will feature a review of last year’s tourism performance presented by the Visitors and Convention Bureau and the MMGY Global advertising agency, a presentation by one of the world’s leading tourism experts, and the announcement of 2012’s tourism employees of the year.
Located midway between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, Florida’s Historic Coast features historic St. Augustine, the outstanding golf and seaside elegance of Ponte Vedra and 42 miles of pristine Atlantic beaches – the same beaches that greeted Ponce de Leon in 1513 when he discovered and named La Florida.
“Tourism is truly the lifeblood of Florida’s Historic Coast,” said Richard Goldman, executive director of the Visitors and Convention Bureau. “Not only does the industry provide more than 11,000 jobs in St. Johns County, the 3.4 million overnight visitors who came here last year spent more than $660 million during their stay on Florida’s Historic Coast. Best of all, this essential economic activity is provided at no cost to local taxpayers. All of our tourism marketing activities are funded through the tourist development tax paid by visitors for overnight lodging. Last year, visitors paid $6.6 million in these ‘bed taxes’ – funds that were used to encourage millions of potential visitors to come here this year, help fund special events and to make improvements to beach and recreation facilities we all enjoy.”
This year’s review of local tourism will have lots of good news for the industry. Nearly every indicator shows impressive increases in the number of visitors and their spending while here. Clearly, the tourism industry has returned to the levels enjoyed prior to the economic downturn that began in 2008. In fact, recent data indicate tourism activity is nearing or exceeding monthly records.
As part of the event, the Visitors and Convention Bureau will review some of their major successes in placing Florida’s Historic Coast on the list of “must-sees” for millions of Americans. Much of this success has resulted from the Bureau’s contract and close working relationship with the Ypartnership advertising agency of Orlando which recently merged with MMG to form MMGY Global and stake their claim as the world’s unquestioned leaders in tourism marketing.
Once again, the centerpiece of the event will be a presentation by tourism visionary Peter Yesawich whose insights into tourism trends are followed closely by travel professionals worldwide. Formerly the chairman of Ypartnership and now the vice chairman of MMGY Global, Peter’s perspective on travel trends and changing consumer behavior, coupled with his intimate knowledge of Florida’s Historic Coast as a tourist destination will provide compelling information that can be successfully applied throughout the local tourism industry.
The State of the Tourism Industry event will also include the presentation of the coveted Tourism Employee of the Year Awards. The finalists represent the very best tourism employees on Florida’s Historic Coast and were selected on the basis of their exemplary service.
The event will take place at the Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village, I-95 exit 323 in St. Augustine. Doors will open at 9 a.m. for coffee and pastries and the program will begin promptly at 9:30 a.m. and end by 11:30 a.m. The public is invited to attend. Admission is $10. To secure a reservation for what is expected be an extremely well-attended event, call Carey Cramer at 829.1711 or email ccramer@floridashistoriccoast.com
Source: Jay Humphreys, Communications Director, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors & Convention Bureau
